English · Idiom Historical

guinea fowl

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

So called because it was brought to us from the coast of Guinea, where it is very common.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “guinea fowl” mean?

So called because it was brought to us from the coast of Guinea, where it is very common.

Is “guinea fowl” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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